David Wright solar environmental architect

We worked with David on our custom, off-grid house concept starting in fall of 2014. Our site is on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California at 6000 ft elevation, perched at the edge of the high-desert sagebrush and pinon-juniper woodland. We receive little rainfall, but have 300+ days/year of sunlight. We carefully researched architects that would have an eye toward passive solar design, sustainability and experience with arid environments. My wife had seen some of David’s work in New Mexico in the 1980s and appreciated his use of space and sunlight. We realized that he had a lifetime of experience with researching and designing living spaces that matched our exact location. After speaking on the phone during our interview, David was clearly excited about the project and emailed our multi-page “homework” assignment, in which we detailed our expectations of what we wanted in a home before we even looked at any floor-plans. Our concept slowly took shape after a site visit by David (highly recommended), in which he integrated the landscape, viewsheds and sun-angles into the draft version. He was very amenable with our constant refinements as we went along, either by paper, email or CAD computer programs. His vast experience helped guide us towards a very compact, efficient, sustainable, eco-friendly, comfortable, and quiet home design. Once we decided on a builder and started in July 2015, David continued to be a helpful resource during the construction phases. He is very approachable, earnest and forthright in his vision for each individual project. Even though he has some off-the-shelf plans for some houses, David carefully tailors each custom home specifically for its future occupant’s needs and desires. For us, he incorporated passive solar design, fire-resistant materials, solar domestic hot water, radiant floor heating, vaulted ceilings, ICF walls, SIP roofing, graywater irrigation, southwestern styling among many other features. We are now halfway through the construction phase and hope to occupy by spring of 2016. We are very satisfied with David as our architect. He may be a bit more expensive than someone pulling a predefined set of plans and modifying them for your purpose. However, if you want an absolutely beautiful place to call your own that remains comfortable year-round with minimal future heating/cooling expenses, David is your solution.

My wife and I went to David with a general idea of what we wanted to build. We were ready and eager to build our (dream) retirement home. David listened to our needs and wants and came forth with a design that was immediately embraced by the both of us. The passive solar design has proven to be significantly efficient and the house is both functional and very esthetically pleasing. Our home is 800 square feet, and David's design easily allows one to feel that the living space is much more spacious. Overall, we simply could not be happier with the design and home that David created and the process of working together with him was a positive and productive experience.

David is working on a major remodel for our home in Grass Valley. He has taken a small home and developed ideas that are functional, have the best features and designs and plans that work for our needs. He listened carefully to our thoughts and quickly followed through with an amazing design. He also knows the latest about Eco friendly designs and hardware that make a house functional, save money and the environment. He is a pleasure to work with and we would highly recommend him.

I have know David Wright for over 30 years, having worked with and for him and his company over a six year period. David is a talented designer who has spent a career extolling the virtues of energy conservation through smart design. His sense of space and proportion are unusual even in a profession where such sensibilities are expected. David Wright is a kind and honest, hard-working man with a distinguished career that includes designing hundreds of homes, authoring several books on passive solar buildings and lecturing nationally to his contemporaries. I am honored to know David and include him among my friends.

In 2004 my wife and I selected David Wright, AIA to design our "retirement home" in the Sierra Nevada foothills. His design process, using an extensive questionnaire and collaborative personal interaction resulted in an initial design that met or exceeded 95% of our requirements and expectations on the first iteration. With a few minor modifications we ended up with the home of our dreams. David's varied and extensive experience produced a beautiful "contemporary southwest" design on a topographically demanding site. His refined design sense, combined with his expertise in cutting edge building technologies produced a very elegant and thermally efficient home; one that continues to amaze those that visit as well as the two of us that are fortunate to live there. We couldn't be more pleased with the process, professionalism and results of our association with Mr. Wright.

David and his staff asked many "up front" questions from Maria and I to help capture our concepts and desired details.... He has provided us with many helpful tips and shown us other custom homes in the area he has created. We are entering "detail design" and looking forward to a 3D CADD rendering to help us understand just how our home will look and how it will fit at the homesite. David has provided us with reccommended sources for doors, windows, etc., and promising High Tech Heat Pumps using new R-401 freon. David helped us pound stakes at the site to see how it will look... one step further! Looking forward to moving into our new home :) Ken & Maria

With unforeseen fits and starts and delays and stops, David was at my side. As my money waned and defeat reared its ugly head, he was most positive and supportive, but never pushy or elitist or condescending. He "struggled" with my own design, pointing out problems, adjusting as we went, finally ending with a design of his own that was more appropriate to my situation. It was a vertical learning curve on my part, and, as my Father would say, "why do all our lessons have to be so expensive?" Money was well spent on my education and I look forward to completion of my minimalist, bullet-proof, "tree house" in Northern California.